1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable electronic devices. In particular, the present invention relates to methods of promoting the distribution of content to portable electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones, are primarily used for obtaining access to wireless telephone services through a cellular telephone network. However, as the capabilities of mobile telephones increase, an additional level of user functionality is being included in the hardware and/or software of such terminals. For example, application software can be installed on mobile telephones, permitting them to perform a wide variety of functions. Many mobile telephones include applications suitable for tracking and managing schedules, tasks and the like. In addition, many mobile telephones also include messaging capability, such as electronic mail (e-mail), short message service (SMS) and multimedia message service (MMS) capabilities. Mobile telephones may also be capable of connecting to the Internet by using internet protocol (IP) over wireless and/or wired networks. Accordingly, some mobile telephones also include Internet browser software that is configured to access and display Internet content.
In general, many portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), palmtop computers, and the like, have the ability to access a wide range of information content and downloadable application software over data communication networks such as the Internet.
In addition to accessing information content and application software, portable electronic devices are widely used to store and play back digital audio files, video files, image files, and/or other types of multimedia files. Multimedia files may include any other type of file containing audio, visual and/or textual information. For example, as used herein, a “multimedia” file may include files, such as audio, image and/or video files, as well as MMS or PPT message files.
Users of portable electronic devices often wish to share downloaded content and applications with friends, or to notify friends of the availability of certain content or applications for download. However, as downloading of applications and content can now occur more frequently and easily, it may be difficult to keep track of where a particular application or item of content was obtained from. Furthermore, it may not be desirable to transmit the content or application itself from one user's mobile phone to another user's mobile phone, due to the time and/or expense involved with transmitting large files. Thus, it may be difficult to quickly and easily promote the distribution of content among users of portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones.